Best cocktail recipes of 2025 from the UK’s bars and restaurants

Bacon Bloody Mary

 

Smoky, savoury and unapologetically bold, the Bacon Bloody Mary is built for the Sunday roast. Created by Nick Blucert, mixologist at the Duke of Greenwich in south-east London, the cocktail reimagines the classic.

 

Doghouse’s Baller chilli bacon vodka gives the cocktail a distinctly meaty edge, infused with habañero chillies and a closely guarded ‘secret ingredient’, delivering heat, depth and an unmistakable hit of umami.

 

Pickle martinis

 

Pickles and ferments certainly stayed at the forefront in 2025, and even made their way into the drinks realm. We saw two ways to make a pickle martini – either by infusing vodka with gherkins or adding pickle brine from your favourite creations. Whichever you choose, make sure your garnishes are appropriately savoury to round off the drink.

 

Negroni with a twist

 

Maintaining its soaring popularity, the negroni has had a great year – so much so that the Alchemist even opened its own Campari bar to give London’s city workers what they’re craving.

 

The Braywood near Bray in Maidenhead created a negroni with a fig-infused twist, while on the spicier side there’s Luke Wasserman’s concoction.

 

Garden cocktails

 

With the rise of the kitchen garden comes the increase in the popularity of herbaceous cocktails. Both the Goring and Northcote showed us their recipes for bright green drinks incorporating elements from their growth – the Goring with a green tuille and Northcote with its Obsession gin.

 

Tomatini

 

Despite being around for over 15 years, the Tomatini had its year in 2025. Using tomato as the fruit it is, this drink brings out its sweet flavours while maintaining a savoury undertone – making it perfect for martini lovers who want something less intense than dirty.

 

Gooseberry sour

 

Bright and sharply balanced, the Gooseberry sour pairs tart citrus with the richness of sweet cherry molasses and the herbaceous depth of sweet red vermouth. The cocktail was created by Joe Johnston, operations manager at the Camberwell Arms in south London.

 

Whisky highball

 

Bringing flavours from Japan, Matilda Tsappis, owner of Killiecrankie House in Perthshire was inspired by the country’s drinking culture. She created the whisky highball – an aperitif-style cocktail riffs on two classics: the whisky highball and the fruity chu-hi.

 

Yuzushu adds a bright hit of acidity, balanced by black elderflower cordial made from flowers grown in the restaurant’s kitchen garden, resulting in a fresh, lightly sweet pre-dinner serve.